Though GT Advanced Technologies Inc. did not reveal this week exactly when it will be supplying sapphire glass to Apple en masse, the company did issue a public statement revealing that its arrangement with the iPhone maker is "progressing well."

Tom Gutierrez, president and chief executive of GT Advanced, was quoted in his company's quarterly earnings report on Monday as saying that build-out of the new facility in Arizona, which will supply sapphire glass to Apple for future products, began last quarter. GT Advanced also began to staff the operation last quarter, but unsurprisingly, Gutierrez declined to give a specific date as to when mass production will begin.

"We are pleased to have Apple as a sapphire customer and to be in a position to leverage our proprietary know-how to enable the supply of this versatile material," Gutierrez said. "While our primary focus during the balance of the year is to continue to execute on our commitments in Arizona, our aim is to position GT not only as an exceptional sapphire supplier to Apple but also as an unparalleled world-class supplier of sapphire material and equipment to a variety of customers."

The CEO also said that his company expects to return to profitability in the second half of 2014. Given the size of his company's contract with Apple, this has drawn some speculation that a new product, such as an iPhone with a sapphire glass display, could launch later this year, but no specific indication to that effect was given by GT Advanced.

The component supplier received its first in a series of prepayments from Apple last quarter, as part of a multi-year deal for sapphire glass worth $578 million.

That arrangement between GT Advanced and Apple was announced last November, and the deal includes an Arizona factory that will create 700 jobs and employ 1,300 construction workers. Apple's investment is a prepayment that funds the accelerated development of GT Advanced's "next-generation, large capacity" Advanced Sapphire Furnace.

Apple already uses sapphire glass to protect its camera lenses and the Touch ID fingerprint sensor found beneath the home button on the iPhone 5s. The company relies on that material instead of Corning's Gorilla Glass for those specific purposes because of its superior scratch-resistance.

Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook was asked about the new Mesa, Ariz., facility last month and confirmed it would be used to build sapphire crystal glass, but unsurprisingly declined to go any further when asked whether that glass could be used for a larger iPhone.

Just last week, Mark Shuttleworth, best known for being co-founder of Ubuntu developer Canonical, claimed that Apple scooped up the "entire three-year supply" of sapphire screens his company had originally planned to use in a now-scrapped smartphone, dubbed the Edge. Apple and GT Advanced are rumored to be capable of producing 100 million to 200 million 5-inch iPhone displays per year.

I'd laugh if we find out that Apple has an alternative use for all of this sapphire.

Well, clearly if they released a watch it'd have sapphire glass; nothing new in watches. But I believe the investment is too large for watch displays. It makes sense that this is for the iPhone 6. Death to screen protectors forever!!

There are several watches on the market which have that glass. It'd be nothing new. Half a billion is for more than watch glass.

1) Why does it have to be something new for Apple to use it? Or rather, do you think Apple isn't making a wearable or wouldn't use sapphire crystal simply because it's been done before?

2) Half a billion for what? The dollar value for investing in the plant? If don't think that a watch face is sufficient use for sapphire crystal then you can't possibly think the tiny home button is sufficient and yet that's where they started with their use of sapphire.

This bot has been removed from circulation due to a malfunctioning morality chip.

I don't think there's much worry, unless the cost comes down substantially I don't think Samsung will switch.

Curious as to Apple's motivation for the choice. I'm hoping it has to do with them putting out a solar charging option on the phone (it wouldn't be the first phone to do this, but I'd applaud Apple for 'copying' that as well because I care more about the benefits of the technology than who is trying to hoard it).

Now that you mention it, I recall a story a few weeks ago about an Apple Store having one of it's huge glass panels shattered by a snow-blower. Perhaps the sapphire could be used for the store-fronts! Make 'em less susceptible to breakage by snow-blowers, errant automobiles, thieves, etc.

Now that you mention it, I recall a story a few weeks ago about an Apple Store having one of it's huge glass panels shattered by a snow-blower. Perhaps the sapphire could be used for the store-fronts! Make 'em less susceptible to breakage by snow-blowers, errant automobiles, thieves, etc.

Now, if they put a new Apple Store in Cairo, Egypt, right down by the river there, and use the sapphire for the windows, it'd be a real Jewel of the Nile.